After finishing college in 1991, Rutenberg began working for the New York Daily News as a gossipstringer. He eventually worked his way up to becoming a general assignment reporter. In 1996, he was hired on staff and became a transit beat reporter. He left the Daily News in 1999 to work as a TV reporter for The New York Observer. One year later, he began working for The New York Times, where he was responsible for covering media and local politics. He has also served as City Hall Bureau Chief,[2] and later as chief political correspondent for the Sunday magazine.[3] In January 2016 he was named media columnist.[3] In January 2020, he became a writer at large for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine.[4]
Family
Rutenberg is married to designer Ondine Karady.[5]